Casino M8trix Card Room in San Jose
Casino M8trix, located in Northern California, is a unique card room in that it doesn’t prioritize poker more than its other offerings. Still, it’s an enjoyable poker room to check out and an excellent venue for social events and corporate parties, especially if you live near San Jose.
Plus, with California sports betting struck down in the 2022 election, it provides one of the few legal in-person gambling activities in the state.
Below, we will explore this card room further so you understand all that it has to offer.
Poker Room Fact Table
Year Opened | 1946 |
Phone Number | 408-244-3333 |
Address | 1887 Matrix Boulevard, San Jose, CA 95110 |
Number of Poker Tables | 49 |
Number of Other Games (est) | 11 |
Minimum Age to Gamble | 21 |
Popular Card Room Events
Casino M8trix hosts two main tournaments: The Jupiter and Jupiter Satellite Sit-N-Go.
The former is a No-Limit Hold‘Em tournament with a starting stack of 25,000. It runs on every third Monday of the month at 6:00 pm. Buy-ins are usually around $600, and the tournament features a prize pool of over $50,000 on average.
It’s a fairly classic tournament with predictable rules that players can examine on the main website. There are breaks in between most of the big levels, and each level takes only 20 minutes. This does mean that the Jupiter tournament is a little faster on average compared to many other card rooms’ tournaments.
The Jupiter Sit-N-Gos are offered as three separate No-Limit Hold ‘Em tournaments with starting stacks of either 10,000 or 12,000 and buy-ins of $130, $160, or $210. Ultimate potential prize pools rise accordingly with the cost of the buy-ins.
These Jupiter tournaments are easier to jump in and out of, so they usually attract more casual poker players or those who don’t have a lot of time for a longer tournament experience. They’re also offered the week before the main Jupiter tournaments on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. These are the closest that Casino M8trix has to daily tournaments.
Although California’s legal gambling age is 18, Casino M8trix is 21-and-over because it serves alcohol.
Poker Games
Players can partake in poker at Casino M8trix by visiting the guest-friendly poker room. You’ll have to sign up for new games by calling between 4 PM and 12 AM and at least an hour before a game is scheduled.
Casino M8trix offers four main poker varieties across its 16 poker tables:
- Texas No-Limit Hold‘Em – This is the most common type of poker in the world and comes with the widest varieties of limits and splits.
- Pot Limit Omaha – This is a variation of classic poker where players are dealt four cards and make an ideal hand by combining those cards with three of the five community cards.
- Big Stack Max Poker – This is traditional poker with a larger than average maximum stack, putting extra pressure on players that have large stacks of chips.
- Limit Omaha Hi-Lo – This poker variety allows players with both the highest and lowest hands to win a hand instead of just the players with the highest.
Overall, Casino M8trix offers a few extra main poker varieties compared to many other card rooms in California, particularly in Northern California.
Poker Tournaments
Casino M8trix doesn’t have any daily tournaments at this time. However, poker enthusiasts who want to find constant action won’t be too disappointed since the Jupiter Sit-N-Gos are offered every month alongside the main Jupiter tournaments. This means you’ll be able to participate in four distinct tournaments per month at this card room if you attend everything.
See our complete Guide to Poker Tournaments in California.
Table Games
Casino M8trix offers several “Cal games”, which are classic casino card games with twists to the rules to ensure that they don’t break California’s gambling restrictions. The available Cal games include:
- Baccarat Gold
- Pure 21.5 Blackjack
- Pai Gow Poker
- Three Card Poker
- Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em
- Pai Gow Tiles
- Casino War
- Crazy 4 Poker
- Pure Spanish 21.5
- 21st Century Blackjack Switch
- Let it Ride
The Cal games can be found mixed in with the regular poker table games, scattered throughout the casino floor.
Poker Room Facility
Casino M8trix isn’t your typical card room like many others you find in California. Instead, it’s a blended facility that draws in a lot of income from its card game activities, entertainment venues and events, restaurants, and VIP entertainment lounges.
Those VIP entertainment lounges can be accessed at the top of the Casino M8trix event tower, which is a sprawling facility located on the fifth through seventh floors of the overall building. The space is utterly luxurious and is perfect for social gatherings and corporate events. The rooms accept groups of 14 or more and require reservations of more than two weeks prior to the event date.
Guests will also appreciate the variety of dining options they’ll find at this card room. The Zone 8 Sports Bar & Grill provides tons of American and Asian food options, along with a diverse selection of draft beers, wines, and spirits. The restaurant features tons of HDTVs, which continue on to the main casino floor.
There’s also a sushi restaurant, a café that provides freshly-brewed coffee and tea, and the Epic Bar, which is the perfect spot to stay in the midst of the gaming action while grabbing a bite to eat or enjoying a drink.
Card Room History
Casino M8trix was founded in 1946, after three brothers acquired a city card room license. The card room was initially called Garden City Casino. But even from the beginning, the card room was known for both its exceptional gaming opportunities and its fantastic restaurants.
It relocated from its spot in San Jose near Market and Post Streets to S. Saratoga Avenue in 1976. 2007 saw the casino purchased under new ownership and it underwent significant renovations, as well as a total rebranding under the Casino M8trix name. More recently, the owner had his gambling license stripped, resulting in new ownership.
Casino M8trix Card Room California FAQs
This is just because the casino also serves alcohol relatively openly, making it easy for an 18-year-old to accidentally get some.
No. It only offers poker and table card games instead of slot games or other types of gambling activities.
Casino M8trix is regulated by the California Gambling Control Commission.
Yes. There is both regular and valet parking.
The overall casino is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.